Cross posted at slothropia.com.
I was directed to this useful Ezra Klein post irt health care and entitlement reform by Bill Poorman (who btw does not seem all that poor but is definitely an example of male homo sapiens sapiens).
I am really pleased that health care reform is coming this year (apparently). Remember, though, that while the flat earth party is down, they are not out, and they can always count on the corporate media to propagate their distorted message. It is not currently doing the GOP much good politically at the moment, but they will still try to control the debate with lies.
We (those who see the necessity for sweeping reform) need to be aware of some pertinent facts when the bs starts flying.
For starters, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranks the United States health care regime as 37th in the world, just two slots above Cuba (see? Sicko was right).
Here is more from the WHO:
The United States spends more money on health care than any other country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD consists of 30 democracies, most of which are considered the most economically advanced countries in the world. According to OECD data, the United States spent $6,102 per capita on health care in 2004 — more than double the OECD average and 19.9% more than Luxembourg, the second-highest spending country. In 2004, 15.3% of the U.S. economy was devoted to health care, compared with 8.9% in the average OECD country and 11.6% in second-placed Switzerland.
And what do we get for such profligacy?
The average life expectancy for a person in the United
States is 77 ½ years — slightly below the OECD average, and 4½ years less than top rated Japan (Figure 24). Life expectancy is nearly 2½ years longer in Canada than in the United States. The United States is ranked 22nd out of 30 countries on life expectancy at birth, but once people reach the age of 65, U.S. life expectancy improves to a rank of 11th for men and 13th for women out of 30 countries reporting.
What about infant mortality?
The United States has the third-highest infant mortality rate in the OECD, after Turkey and Mexico...However, this statistic is likely somewhat overstated because of differences in methodology. The United States is one of eight countries that counts very premature babies with low chances of survival as "live births," which has the effect of increasing infant mortality rates over what they otherwise would be. Nevertheless, among the eight countries that report live births using the same methodology, the United States has the highest rate of infant mortality. Even with more consistent methodology, the U.S. ranking — which has been slipping over time — would probably not significantly improve.
These are the sorts of facts that Republicans and their friend in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries are most afraid of. It is not surprising then that, according to a NY Times/CBS poll, the American public has made up it's mind in favor of universal heath care in the face of a monstrous disinformation campaign that began during the Truman administration.
Looks like change is finally at hand.